Mark Hamill Pays Tribute To Carrie Fisher On Anniversary of Her Death

Mark Hamill has paid tribute to his beloved Star Wars co-star and space twin, Carrie Fisher, on the anniversary of her death. Fisher, who played the iconic character Princess Leia over the course of five films in the franchise, passed away late last year after suffering a heart attack. Her loss was a major blow to the Star Wars community, and fans continue to mourn the tragedy and celebrate her legacy. Many consider The Last Jedi to be a poignant sendoff for the legend, though there are questions about how she'll be handled in J.J. Abrams' Episode IX.

With today (December 27) marking the one-year anniversary of Fisher's passing, moviegoers around the world are once again remembering her. As one would expect, that also includes Hamill, who made sure to commemorate Fisher in a heartfelt social media post.

Taking to Instagram, Hamill shared a collage of three different images. On the far left is an artist's drawing of Fisher as a religious figure, giving her famous middle-finger salute while holding her dog, Gary. The right column includes two photos of Hamill and Fisher together; the first taken from the days of the original trilogy and the other from the Vanity Fair spread for Episode VIII earlier this year. You can see it for yourself in the space below:

Hamill's post includes the caption "No one's ever really gone..." which is a Last Jedi quote taken from the scene where Luke Skywalker and Leia have their brief reunion on Crait. That sequence has proven to be one of the most emotional in the saga; not just because of the real-world implications, but since it is the closest the sequel trilogy got to bringing the classic big three back together. As many know by now, Luke and Leia's meeting is punctuated by Skywalker handing his sister Han Solo's gold dice from the Millennium Falcon, and the two acknowledge the death of their loved one. Episode VIII director Rian Johnson promised Leia's scenes would be cathartic, and that assessment was right on the money.

In the months following Fisher's death, it was revealed the original plan for Star Wars 9 was to put Leia at the forefront, much like The Force Awakens was Han's movie and The Last Jedi was Luke's. However, Lucasfilm had to start from scratch after the tragedy (and that was before Abrams and Chris Terrio came on board to rewrite it), so it remains to be seen how the studio will conclude a story that obviously had at least one more chapter in it. Kathleen Kennedy has already ruled out CGI recreation and repurposing old footage, so odds are Leia will not have a physical presence in the film. Everyone involved with Episode IX understand how important this is, so viewers can rest easy knowing they'll handle it with care.